The Crime Book

186

J

ohn Paul Getty III, known as

“Paul”, was the rebellious

grandson of J. Paul Getty, the

famously miserly oil billionaire. At

age 16, Paul was living a bohemian

lifestyle in Rome, Italy – where he

grew up. On a drunken night out

with friends on 10 July 1973, he was

kidnapped from Rome’s Piazza

Farnese. Such was his wild-child

reputation, however, that many

assumed he had staged the

kidnapping to extort money from

his grandfather.

In fact, Paul had been driven 400

km (250 miles) south into Calabria

by his kidnappers. They kept him

on the move, changing location

regularly to throw off would-be

pursuers. They forced him to write a

letter to his mother telling her that

he was being held by kidnappers

who would cut off one of his fingers

if they were not paid a ransom of

$18 million (£45 million today).

Still unconvinced of the

authenticity of the abduction,

J. Paul Getty contracted ex-CIA

agent Fletcher Chace to find his

grandson. In the meantime, another

letter arrived, again written by Paul

under duress. The kidnappers

included a threatening note giving

the family 15 days to hand over the

money, or else they would send

another letter containing a lock of

Paul’s hair and one of his ears.

Paul’s mother Gail contacted

the kidnappers to tell them that she

would find the money and meet

them at a specific time and place.

However, she never turned up.

Horrific package

Some weeks later, the kidnappers

honoured their gruesome threat.

On 10 November, the Italian

newspaper Il Messaggero received

a package containing a lock of

Paul’s auburn hair and his right ear.

The kidnappers threatened to

IN CONTEXT

LOCATION

Rome and Calabria, Italy

THEME

Kidnapping

BEFORE

1936 Ten-year-old Charles

Mattson is kidnapped from his

Washington home and held for

a $28,000 (£290,000 today)

ransom. Negotiations break

down and the boy is murdered

by an unknown culprit.

1963 Nineteen-year-old Frank

Sinatra Jr, son of the famous

singer, is kidnapped from a

hotel room by Lake Tahoe,

Nevada, and freed three days

later after a ransom is paid.

Three men are later convicted.

AFTER

1983 In Amsterdam, Freddy

Heineken – CEO of the family

brewing company – and his

driver are kidnapped. They are

freed after $13 million (£21

million today) is paid. All four

kidnappers are later arrested.

SINCE MONDAY I HAVE

FALLEN INTO THE

HANDS OF

KIDNAPPERS

THE KIDNAPPING OF JOHN PAUL GETTY III, 1973

This is Paul’s ear. If we don’t

get some money within 10

days, then the other ear will

arrive. In other words, he will

arrive in little bits.

Ransom note

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187

According to reports, John Paul

Getty III, seen here after his ordeal,

tried to speak to his grandfather to

thank him for obtaining his release, but

the elder Getty refused to take the call.

See also: The Lindbergh Baby Kidnapping 178–85 ■ The Kidnapping of Patty Hearst 188–89

KIDNAPPING AND EXTORTION

remove his other ear unless they

were paid $3.2 million (£7.9 million

today) within 10 days. Meanwhile,

another package arrived at the

offices of newspaper Il Tempo.

Inside were photographs of Paul’s

scarred face.

Reluctant acquiescence

The photos prompted a response

from J. Paul Getty. He contributed

$2.2 million (£5.4 million today)

• according to his accountant, this
  was the maximum amount that
  was tax deductible – and loaned
  his son the remaining money,
  charging 4 per cent interest. Chace
  handed over three sacks of cash on
  12 December. Two days later, Paul
  was released outside Lagonegro in
  southern Italy and picked up by the
  police. He was malnourished and
  weak from the blood loss caused
  when his ear was severed.
  Police arrested nine men, with
  links to the Calabrian Mafia. Seven
  received sentences of between four
  and ten years, while two were
  released. Only $85,000 (£210,000
  today) of the ransom was found.

Scarred for life

A year after his ordeal, Paul

married a German photographer.

They moved to New York and had

a son, Balthazar Getty, who became

an actor. Paul never recovered from

the psychological trauma of the

kidnapping and descended into

alcoholism and drug addiction. In

1981, at age 24, he suffered a stroke

brought on by a cocktail of drugs. It

left him paralyzed, almost blind,

and practically speechless. His

mother cared for him after his

stroke, but she was forced to sue

her ex-husband, Paul’s father, to pay

for his treatment and care. Paul and

his wife divorced in 1993, and he

died at his home in London in

2011, at age 54. ■

Ransom rules

Different countries have varying

policies about the payment of

ransoms. The UK will not pay

ransoms to terrorists because it

believes it would encourage other

abductions. The US has a long-

standing policy against paying

ransoms for hostages on the

grounds that it puts its citizens at

greater risk and funds terrorism.

The US government will prosecute

a US public company or private

organization that buys the

freedom of an employee in this

way. However, it does permit

families to negotiate on their

own. The French, Italian, and

Spanish governments have a

long record of directly paying

ransoms, although the Italian

government made a notable

exception by refusing to

negotiate in the kidnapping

of former prime minister Aldo

Moro (see pp.322–23).

Israel has a different stance.

It is prepared to negotiate for

the release of captured citizens.

For example, in 2011, more than

1,000 Palestinian prisoners were

exchanged for a single abducted

Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit.

Gershon Baskin, an expert on the

Israeli-Palestinian conflict, helped

mediate between Israel and Hamas

in the 2011 deal to release Shalit.

I can afford to say

what I wish.

John Paul Getty

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